Calling All Women: An Update from Women’s March on Washington Leaders

On Wednesday, January 4th, we hosted a call in partnership with the leadership team from the Women’s March on Washington, including Tamika Mallory, Linda Sarsour, Bob Bland, and Janaye Ingram. Over 500 women joined the call, including participants in our network and key leaders and influencers working for gender equality. Presenters also included Melanie Campbell, President and CEO of the National Coalition on Black Civic Participation and Kathy Sanchez, Co-Founder of Tewa Women United. Both women are leaders on It’s Time Network’s National Advisory Council.

Over the past several months, It’s Time Network has been preparing to launch a “Calling All Women” campaign, hosting a weekly virtual national conversation for women and allies in 2017. We know that right now, women are looking for ways to build our collective power and grow our capacity to work together for change. These calls are designed to both connect a growing number of women, and to expand the Network City Program, so we can increase our capacity for collective action at the local level.

As news of the Women’s March on Washington spread following the November election, we began to receive inquiries about it from our network. To determine how to respond to these inquiries, we spoke with Melanie Campbell, who is based in DC and she connected us with the leadership team for the DC March.It was agreed that a call might be the best way to support their efforts and offer accurate information to our network and beyond. So we began our first national weekly conversation in service to and in support of the march organizers.

Why is the Women’s March so critical?

This will be the largest public showing that any administration has seen on its first day in office, and it will make a statement that women and allies will show up and stand up for their needs and rights under any administration.

It’s not a march that is designed to ensure that all newly elected officials know that women are ready for change.

The march is meant to be the first step in a larger movement to work together to protect and advance our rights. Showing up for this initial event, either in DC or at a Sister City March demonstrates our solidarity and commitment to the movement going forward.

If you’d like to participate next week in It’s Time Network’s web call, you can register here. We also encourage you to become a part of the network to stay informed about future calls, as we continue to connect a growing network for collective action.